Monday, 2 February 2015

We want to see the foundation of nationhood in place, says Fr. Akpan

By Anote Ajeluorou

How do children process traumatic situations the crassness
of adult world subjects them? How are the abducted Chibok schoolgirls
processing whatever horrors their abductors are putting them through? Are they
looking forward to a future of possible freedom? What do they feel about a
society that seems to have abandoned them to the insurgent wolves? How do
children in Baga and other towns in the North East process the mass murders they
witness daily of their parents and siblings?

These are the
motivations of author of short story collection on children and Catholic
reverend father, Fr. Uwem Akpan in his 2009 book Say You’re One of Them. He was also guest author at Port Harcourt
Book Capital 2014 Book-Of-The-Month programme, which held at Presidential
Hotel, Port Harcourt last Sunday.

The collection of five
stories, an Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club in 2009, deals with children in dire
situations in parts of Africa just like the Chibok schoolgirls. The first
excerpt the author read is from the story ‘Luxurious Hearses’ in which a young,
Moslem faithful, Jubril, submits his right hand to be cut off for stealing a
goat, as enshrined in Islamic Sharia. In reading it Fr. Akpan took his audience
back in time to kindergarten level.

He asked his
audience to imagine themselves as children and then asked them to close their
eyes and hold up their right hand with their left. Then he began to read to
them, which seemed to transport his audience back in time. If anything else,
‘Luxurious Hearses’ presages current insurgent crisis with children continually
falling victim in the world of adult madness.

But Fr. Akpan condemns
such religious excess and zeal, and noted that while stealing a goat costs poor
Jubril and many of his ilk their right hands, what becomes of politicians who
steal billions and impoverish the likes of Jubril to the point of stealing?
Therefore, according to him, only the poor bear the brunt of such draconian
religious law while the rich ge away unscathed, a situation he attributes to
religious hypocrisy.

Fr. Akpan urged
his audience not to see Boko Haram
insurgency as a northern problem alone. According to him, “What if Port
Harcourt is bombed? Who has hijacked Islam and Christianity and turned them
against the people? When I was in Lagos parish, our parishioners who ran from
violence in the north always asked why they had to lose everything, relations
and businesses. So, at that moment what are they feeling? And what happens to
those stealing from the treasury?

“Cutting of hand
was a big deal. They cut off their hands, then they run to the south. Am I
supposed to feed them? Yes, I am supposed to give alms as a Christian, but not like
this. And the governors, who sign the order, if we shake them upside down, are
they free of corruption? The masses need to rise up.”

Fr. Akpan said
although he didn’t start with writing children’s stories, he realised there
weren’t stories that dealt with the psychological depth of a child’s feelings
in situations of stress. And so, “I wanted to see how a child processes challenges
in life he or she faces. What would a child who sees people being slaughtered
in Baga think if he survived? He would be traumatised. It was a difficult book
to write.

“Each of the
stories has the theme of ‘who will be there for you in the final analysis? Who
will save you? Who is your neighbor?’ Many of us are so frustrated in this
country; things are so complicated. Students in universities are busy
‘hussling’ to survive; the girls take to prostitution. These things happen and
we don’t even talk about them any more; it’s a charade”.

Fr. Akpan then
took on leadership, both political and religious, as bane of Nigeria’s
development, noting that wrong people seem to be the only ones in power in both
spheres. According to him, “This is what happens if you don’t vote the right
people to ensure good education for the kids”.

The Catholic
priest tasked moderate MosIem clerics to speak up against the insurgent crisis.
According to him, “Moderate Moslems have to step up. If criticism is coming
only from outside, they can become defensive. Some Christians are not helping
matters. We need to say this is not how it should be. Nigeria is not a country
with radical Islam. A senator went to Egypt to marry a minor. I’m calling on
human rights activists to step up and speak against these things”.

However, the
priest isn’t one to shy away from shinning his lens inward into his Christian fold
and the anomalies going on in it. “Even Christians are not free of these
charade,” he noted. “The problem of Nigeria is not just Islam or Boko Haram. In the south, what has been
going on? Where is the oil money? As a pastor or priest, if you’re not careful
you can be co-opted into it. Pastors bless those who steal our money. Whatever
religion has done to Nigeria, I can’t believe it; you can’t believe it.”

A student wanted
to know if military regime isn’t preferable since civilians do not seem to have
fared much better. But Fr. Akpan disagreed and emphatically said, “We don’t
want military in power. We had them before and saw what they did. Until
civilians came I didn’t know this country had so much money. Civilians will get
things right some day. You can’t talk about anything during military; you can’t
vote. We’re better off in a civilian regime than a military one.

“My disappointment
is that the military should be fighting
Boko Haram but they are not equipped enough to do so. So what happened to
the budget for the military? Everybody is hurting in this country – North or
South – the poor people are suffering. Ironically, the rich don’t see
themselves as Northerners or Southerners”.

FOR Fr. Akpan the stories in his book still play
themselves out all over Africa. He said he felt so traumatised while writing
‘Fattening for Gabon’, a story on trafficking of young women for prostitution,
so much so that he had to abandon the story for four months before he could
come back to it.

“While writing
‘Fattening for Gabon’ I was so pained by it I abandoned it for four months,” he
said. “Prostitution is everywhere, but our leaders have performed so poorly. If
our government is working, these evils won’t happen. The international
community is also to be held responsible for taking custody of stolen monies from
African leaders. Governments out in Europe collude in the corruption in Africa
because they use the money to develop their societies over there. Rich
countries know how to protect themselves; the rich know how to take care of
themselves. For instance, no child of a rich man was ever killed in the Akwa
Ibom child witch cases back then before it was stopped.

“Only constant
vigilance and discipline can help curb corruption. Nigeria is a basket case,
where everything crumbles. We want to see the foundation of nationhood in place.”

Clara George, one
of the panel of four student reviewers of the book, read an excerpt from the
title story, ‘Say You’re One of Them’.

To the students, Fr.
Akpan, who had his mother among the audience, had these words, “Ask yourself, what
do you want to be? Pass your stupid exams first before any other thing. Read
widely and committedly. It may be writing, painting, engineering or blowing the
trumpet. Ask God to reveal to you what He loves you to excel in. what is it He
has equipped in you? But you have to study very hard”.

On the right way to
raise up a child now in the era of multi-media, Fr. Akpan admitted that it “was
very challenging indeed growing up today as a child, especially in the cities.
In the village, everybody looks after and no video games or internet or phone.
In our time, to ride a bicycle was our biggest ambition play. It was easier
back then to raise a child; it’s very complicated now. Parents, spend time with
your children; talk with them. Students should obey the Ten Commandments.
Teachers are so ill-equipped they something extra to keep body and soul
together”.

Director of Rainbow
Book Club and Port Harcourt Book Capital 2014, Mrs. Koko Kalango, said bring
Fr. Akpan was timely, as it extended the scope of the first host of Sub-Sahara
Africa’s book capital. She said the stories resonate with the times as they
also call on leaders to step up efforts to address issues plaguing the
continent’s children so they could grow up leaders of tomorrow.